Purple Drums

These are my drums. Actually, I have more than one set. These, however, are very special drums. I had them custom made out of birch by Joe McSweeney from Eames Drums in Saugus, MA. They're more like fine pieces of furniture that also sound amazing. The color is unique too. Instead of using a color already available, I found my own. I researched for months, talking to furniture makers, painters, and drum manufacturers. Finally, unable to locate a color through traditional means, I went to an art supply store and bought a bunch of oil paints. Oil paint, I discovered, is simply pigment and linseed oil. I brought a bunch of these to Joe, and he diluted them with oil and applied them to some scrap pieces of wood. This color jumped out at me like a Jack In The Box. Nobody else I know has used art store oil paint in this application. So these could be the only drums of this particular color in the world. That thought makes me smile.